STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3621

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                   

 

RE:     S.C.R. No. 135

        S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Health and Human Services and Judiciary, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 135 entitled:

 

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING THE GOVERNOR'S SENIOR ADVISOR FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND THE JUSTICE SYSTEM TO DEFINE THEIR ROLE AND TO PROVIDE AN ANNUAL REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE ON THE PROGRESS THE STATE HAS MADE TOWARDS JAIL DIVERSION,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to urge the Governor's Senior Advisor for Mental Health and the Justice System to define their role and to provide an annual report to the Legislature on the progress the State has made towards jail diversion.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission, Office of Youth Services, and Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Health.

 

     Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Office of the Governor, Governor's Coordinator on Homelessness, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Office of Wellness and Resilience, Department of Human Services, the Judiciary, and Opportunity Youth Action Hawaiʻi.

 

     Your Committees find that the Governor's Senior Advisor for Mental Health and the Justice System has a crucial role in improving the State's implementation of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) model on jail diversion, which details how individuals with mental and substance use disorders come into contact with and move through the criminal justice system.  Your Committees further find that it is vital for the Senior Advisor to gather and report substantive data on the various community programs funded by the Department of Human Services, Department of Health, and the Judiciary that provide various services in the SAMHSA model on jail diversion.  This measure increases transparency on the progress that the Senior Advisor for Mental Health and the Justice System has made on jail diversion in the State and also supports the implementation of a targeted approach to enhance services in jails and prisons, support robust re-entry services in the State, and support deflection and diversion services.

 

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Inserting findings that the uniqueness and importance of having a position in the Office of the Governor that is dedicated to mental health and the justice system makes the Senior Advisor for Mental Health and the Justice System a de facto lead on mental health and the justice system initiatives for the State;

 

     (2)  Inserting language to clarify that the Senior Advisor for Mental Health and the Justice System's annual reports to the Legislature are requested to:

 

          (A)  Include any proposed legislation;

 

          (B)  Include a review of all federal and state court cases and constitutional, statutory, and rule changes impacting the Hawaii Revised Statutes that relate to mental health and involuntary transport, examination, hospitalization, and treatment, including assisted community treatment, as proposed in Senate Bill No. 2992, S.D. 2, H.D. 1 (2024); and

 

          (C)  Be made publicly available;

 

     (3)  Inserting language to request the Senior Advisor for Mental Health and the Justice System to regularly submit reports to the Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Health and Human Services on the progress the State has made towards jail diversion; and

 

     (4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Human Services and Judiciary that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 135, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 135, S.D. 1.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Human Services and Judiciary,

 

________________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair

 

________________________________

JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair